Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.

Friday, 18 May 2018

"We Are All Palestinians Now"

Introduction by GA: At the moment I am touring the USA. I am having a great time although the country seems rather sad these days. I will be in San Diego tonight, LA on Saturday and Richmond, CA on Monday. I have been meeting a lot of people who have read and enjoyed my work. A few, however, are clearly upset by my visit. They stalk me, they harass the organisers of my talks and concerts. They attempt to intimidate some of them. These people aren’t Zionists or Israelis. They believe themselves to be ‘anti Zionists.’ They are JVP activists and Jewish Antifas and they little but spreading lies and slander.

In Denver last weekend I gave talks in two churches. Then JVP enthusiasts Preston Enright and Lauri Lynnxe Murphy harassed a music venue and pressured its owner in an attempt to prevent my concert on Mother’s Day. Their efforts failed. On Monday I landed in Portland, OR and learned from Minister John Shuck that Preston Enright has been at work trying to prevent the gathering at his Church.

The following moving article was published by Minister Shuck in response. Minister Shuck supports peace and justice in general and the Palestinians in particular, and was bewildered by the campaign against me by local JVP activists.

I am touched by Minister Shuck’s comments and I am encouraged by his approach to truth and truthfulness.

“We Are All Palestinians Now”

People are beginning to awaken to the fact that the name-calling is connected to the violent oppression. The name-calling and the smearing is the weapon the oppressors use to silence the resistance. When someone is labeled as an anti-Semite, Holocaust Denier, Conspiracy Theorist and what have you, then we don’t need to listen to what they have to say. You don’t need an argument. Call someone an icky name, then avoid them and tell others to avoid them.

The surprising thing is that the name-calling often comes from the mouths of those in opposition to the oppressors. When pro-Palestinian activists call other pro-Palestinian activists these names, then we know the true power of the oppressor. The oppressor controls the language of the opposition.

When I met with divestment activists in the Presbyterian Church (USA) four years ago, I was surprised when one of them told me that we can now use the word “occupation.” When the divestment movement in the PCUSA had begun over a decade previous, calling what Israel was doing to Palestine “an occupation” was not allowed. I asked, “Who makes those rules?” The answer had to do with strategy and who might be offended and who would support and not support their particular goals and so on and so forth.

The rules are self-made and guided by the oppressors.

The oppressors allow the little victories as long as the truth of what keeps the oppressors in power is not allowed to be revealed. When someone like for instance, Gilad Atzmon, starts talking about the ideology behind the oppressors, then an artificial line that has been drawn by the oppressors is crossed. All forces are then unleashed to smear not only Mr. Atzmon but anyone who might even give him space to defend himself against such attacks.

Meanwhile, mass murder continues while churches in America either cheer it on, satisfy themselves with smaller goals that won’t offend the sensitivities of the oppressors, or, as in most cases, remain deadly silent.

I do think people are beginning to awaken to the fact that the name-calling is connected to the violent oppression and that the name-calling says much more about the name-caller than the name-called. The next step is heart or courage. If we are going to dismantle the oppressor by dismantling their control of the discourse, then we must accept that we, too, will be smeared when we give space to those who cross the oppressors’ line. This may affect our reputations, our jobs, our livelihoods.

But that is nothing compared to what is happening to our sisters and brothers in Gaza on this 70th anniversary of the ongoing Nakba. As Mr. Atzmon writes, “We are all Palestinians now.”